Wild Kratts, Season 3, Episode 12: Guardians of the Kelp Forest
by ShorinRyuKarateKobudo
Summary: The Wild Kratts are exploring the mysterious kelp forest to discover new creatures not seen anywhere else. They discovered that the sea otters are linked to the kelp forest but don't exactly know how. But when Donita Donata has set her eyes to turn all the sea otters, it's up to the Wild Kratts to stop her scheme and save the kelp forest


Location: Monterey Bay

Featured Animals: Southern sea otter, Harbor seal, California sea lion, Orca, Bald eagle, Pelagic Cormorant, Pigeon guillemot, Common murre, Leopard shark, Horn shark, Wolf eel, Lingcod, Rockfish, California sheephead, Señoritas, Giant kelpfish, Kelp bass, Northern Anchovy, Bat star, Spiny brittle star, Sand dollar, Sunflower starfish, Purple sea urchin, Warty sea cucumber, Jeweled top snail, Brown Turban Snail, Abalone, Melibe, Decorator crab, Dungeness crab, Giant green anemone, Geoduck Clam

Featured Algae: Giant kelp, Bull kelp, Acid seaweed, Red coralline algae

Mentioned Animals: Giant River otter, American river otter

Villain of the Week: Donita Donata, Dabio

Animal name(s): Root Beer Float, Sweater

The Wild Kratts are at Monterey Bay, situated on a beach.

"Ahhh, nothing like the beautiful beaches of Monterey Bay," said Koki preparing to relax on the beach.

"You said it, Koki," said Martin prepping his kayak.

"And so are the Wild Kratt kids!" said Chris also prepping his kayak.

The Wild Kratt kids run to the beach to have a good time.

"Oh babe, there's so much we can explore," said Aviva holding onto Brandon's arm, "I can't wait to see what the Monterey Bay has to offer."

"Well then, let's go have a look," said Brandon as he and Aviva walked on across the beach to a near roadside.

"And we're off to go kayaking!" said Martin who goes off with Chris.

The Kratt brothers swim on to admire the surroundings.

"Isn't this great, bro?" said Chris, "The clean water, the seabirds flying above us, what's not to enjoy?"

"I'll say bro…" said Martin.

A Southern sea otter pup climbs onto Martin's kayak.

"…hey, aren't you a cute, little fur ball," said Martin scratching the pup under his cheeks.

The mom pops up calling for her pup to come up to her and the pup swims on to his mom.

"Sea otters," said the Kratt brothers.

"A close relative to the river otters we met before," said Chris.

"Like the giants in the Amazon and the North American from that beaver dam," said Martin showing holographic videos of both.

"But if these otters are here, then that means…" said Chris.

"There's a kelp forest nearby," said the Kratt brothers who follow the sea otters.

Back at the Tortuga, Gavin comes across something strange.

"Hey guys, check this out!" said Gavin who picks up a long piece of giant kelp.

"What is that, Gavin?" Aidan asked.

"It looks like some kind of huge plant or something," said Ronan.

"I honestly have no idea," said Gavin.

"Let's bring it to shore and see if the Wild Kratts team can identify this," said Jenny.

"I'll help you carry it to shore, Gavin," said Katie.

The Wild Kratts kids come back to the shores with the giant kelp and Ellie runs up to Jimmy and Kokie.

"Guys, checkout what we found," said Ellie.

Kokie and Jimmy follow Ellie to see the rest of the Wild Kratts kids with a piece of giant kelp.

"What is that?" Koki asked.

"Beats me," said Jimmy, "it looks like those seaweed things they wrap around those sushi rolls."

"Only this would wrap around a much larger sushi roll," said Aiden.

"But what kind of plant is this?" Jenny asked.

"Maybe the Kratt brothers and Ninja might know," said Jimmy.

"I'll call them up," said Koki pulling out her Creature pod.

_Back with the Kratt brothers…_

The Kratt brothers are still following the sea otters when they pick up Koki's call.

"Chris and Martin here," said Chris Kratt through his Creature pod, "What's up, Koki?"

"Chris! Martin!" said Koki back at the beach, "The Wild Kratts kids found this strange piece of plant that looks like seaweed. Can you guys identify this?"

Koki points the Creature pod to the giant kelp for the Kratt brothers to see.

"I know what that is," said Martin, "That's giant kelp!"

"Kelp?" said the Wild Kratt kids.

"Yup, kelp," said Chris.

"Do you know anything about it?" Jimmy asked.

"Unfortunately, not much," Chris replied with a grin.

"My gut says that Ninja might know more about giant kelp than we do," said Martin, "Because all we know is that giant kelp make up a unique habitat home to creatures found nowhere else, as well as being the primary home for sea otters."

"Sea otters?" said Katie.

"Aww, sea otters are so cute," said Jenny.

"Well, here's a mom and her pup right here," said Martin pointing the Creature pod to the mother sea otter grooming her pup.

"Oh, it's too precious!" said Ellie.

"Look at how pup keeps floating back up no matter how hard the pup tries to dive," said Aidan.

"It looks like a root beer float," said Ronan.

"You should call the baby sea otter Root Beer Float!" said Gavin.

The kids continue to chatter.

"Alright, alright, I'll name the baby sea otter Root Beer Float," said Martin.

"Hahaha, even the kids are upstaging you in giving creatures' awesome names," said Chris.

"Okay guys, I'm gonna phone in on Ninja to see if he can educate us more on kelp," said Martin phoning Brandon through his Creature pod.

Farther out back to shore, Aviva and Brandon watch from the cliff side to view a rock full of sea lions and shorebirds.

"Look at the California sea lions taking up room on that island of rock with those shore birds," said Aviva watching through her binoculars, "Can you name all the shorebirds, babe?"

"Let's see," said Brandon watching through his binoculars, "I see pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and common murres."

"Wow," said Aviva, "How can you spot them all even under that fog?"

"You become accustomed to recognizing species when you are a naturalist," said Brandon.

"Wow, you sure are a natural," said Aviva.

Brandon's Creature pod rings and he picks it up.

"Ninja here," said Brandon, "What's up Wild Kratts?"

"Ninja, we need your help on this," said Chris showing Brandon the giant kelp the Wild Kratt kids found.

"Umm, guys," Aviva intruded, "Can you see we're having some time together?"

"Don't worry, honey, this shouldn't take long," said Brandon, "So what would you like to know about that giant kelp?"

"Like what kind of plant is it?" Ronan asked.

"Well, first off, it's not a plant," said Brandon.

The kids gasped.

"Wait, you're telling that green stuff is not a plant?" Koki asked.

"Yeah, it belongs to a completely different kingdom," said Brandon.

"Kingdom, like a castle with knights in shiny armor and…" Jimmy rambled.

"No," Brandon intruded, "Kingdoms of life. For instance, there are some we are already aware of: animals and plants."

"Oh yeah," said Katie, "Those are completely different, so they are not related in any way."

"Exactly," said Brandon, "And then you would have more, like fungus and, what the giant kelp is a part of, protists. Protists include algae, which kelp is a type of."

"Protists?" said Jimmy completely confused, "But it's green like plants normally."

"True, but it does not exhibit the same features as plants do," said Brandon, "Some distinct features about kelp is that even though they do undergo photosynthesis like plants, they absorb their nutrients through their leaves instead of roots, and their roots, called holdfast, serve as to anchor the kelp to the seafloor."

"So in other words, it's an alga, except more massive," said Chris.

"So now that we know more about the kelp, let's find out why sea otters are so dependent on it," said Martin.

"If what you say is true, then you shouldn't be too far away from the nearest kelp forest," said Koki.

"Let's find out," said Chris as he and Martin flip their kayaks over, only to be tangled in giant kelp.

"Yup, we found it," said Martin as he and Chris turn back up, "The kelp forest is right below us. You thinking what I'm thing, bro?"

"Oh yeah," said Chris as he and Martin jump out of their kayak and into the water. There, they are greeted by leopard sharks, rockfishes, California sheepheads, señoritas, giant kelpfishes, Kelp bass, and a shoal of Northern anchovies.

The rest of the team are able to see the plethora of creatures living in the kelp forest.

"Wow, I've never seen such biodiversity anywhere else," said Aviva, "If the coral reef is the rainforest of the sea, then what of the kelp forest?"

"I would say the taiga of the sea due to the ruggedness of the environment and how cold the water is," said Brandon.

"All these species of rockfish and check this out," said Martin, "Jeweled top snails. You don't see those roaming the beachside."

"That's a beautiful snail," said Koki, "I've never seen a snail shell so pretty like that."

"And look at this weird creature," said Chris, "It's also a type of snail but different. It's called a melibe."

"It kinda looks like a Venus flytrap," said Aidan.

"It does," said Chris, "And it functions like it, too, except instead of flies, it catches microorganisms."

"And there's momma sea otter," said Martin watching Root Beer Float's mom diving down.

"I'm actually kinda curious," said Aviva, "How are sea otters able to stand the frigid cold waters?"

"We'll have to take a close look at her to find out," said Chris, "Let's dive deeper to…"

A pair of harbor seals bumps into the Kratt brothers.

"Whoops," said Martin apologizing to them, "sorry, didn't see you harbor seals coming."

"Wow, harbor seals live in kelp forests, too," said Aviva, "I know for a fact that seals can stay warm by keeping a insulating layer of fat. I wonder if the sea otters use that, too?"

"I think I'll stay with Root Beer Float," said Martin, "Maybe I can unlock the secrets of how sea otters can stay warm."

"Sounds good to me," said Chris who continues to follow the mom.

"Looks like I'm gonna be building another invention pretty soon," said Aviva.

"Perhaps we shall continue our journey back to the Tortuga," said Brandon.

"Let's go then," said Aviva as she and Brandon head back to the Tortuga.

Chris follows the mother sea otter to the bottom of the floor where she forages.

"Okay, I'm at the seafloor of the kelp forest and it looks like she's collecting something," said Chris, "Could be abalone, crab, or their favorite, sea urchin."

He finds the sea otter to be looking for a good-sized rock.

"Wait, hold on, a rock? Why do you need a rock for?"

The sea otter puts the rock away.

"Huh? Where did you put that rock?"

Chris scans the sea otter with his Creature pod to find the rock under her armpit, "Of course, sea otters have a special pocket under their armpits to hold objects."

"But why does a sea otter need a rock, for," Koki asked.

The sea otter then continues foraging the sea floor to find a sea urchin and then swims back up to the surface.

"Ooo, Martin, she's coming back to you," said Chris.

"Right back at ya, bro," said Martin, "Well aren't you a cute one."

"Martin, what can you find on how sea otters can live in seawater?" Aviva asked.

"Scanning right now," said Martin with his Creature pod.

Aviva and Brandon got the full analysis of Root Beer Float.

"Wow, they have no fat at all to insulate them from the cold," said Aviva, "But instead, they have fur, lots of fur to be exact."

"Almost as many as a million fur per square inch!" said Martin, "The densest of any mammal!"

"You can also see how the fur works," said Brandon, "As the sea otters groom themselves, air bubbles get trapped by the inner layer of fur, which actually helps them stay warm from the frigid cold water."

"It's almost like wearing a sweater," said Gavin.

"That's it!" said Martin, "Now I know what to name your mom: Sweater!"

"That's a cool name," said Aviva.

Sweater and Chris surface.

"And here's sweater!" said Chris.

Sweater grabs some kelp, wraps it around her and Root Beer Float, and places the rock she found on her chest.

"So that's why sea otter depend on kelp forests," said Martin, "The kelp provides them the shelter they need so that they won't drift into open waters where mean predators live."

"But what is Sweater doing?" Koki asked.

Sweater takes the sea urchin and begins to pound it on her rock until it breaks open in half.

"I don't believe my mind," said Martin in amazement, "Sweater is actually using tools to get their meals."

Everyone else gets stunned.

"What!?" said Jimmy, "I thought only us humans and monkeys can use tools."

"There are other creatures that use tools to get their meals, like Egyptian vultures, bottlenose dolphins, crows, and even octopuses," said Chris.

"And look," said Martin pointing at the other sea otters up ahead of Sweater and Root Beer Float, "They also use it to open other prey, too. Abalone, crab, and snails, also needed to be cracked open in order to reach the good stuff."

Sweater shows Root Beer Float how it is done and Root Beer Float gives it a try.

"Aww, look at Root Beer Float trying it out himself," said Aviva.

"It's very important that Root Beer Float learns this survival technique," said Chris.

"Mom must teach him everything that is needed in order to survive," said Martin.

"Say," said Katie, "what eats sea otters?"

"Oh, those orcas out there," said Chris pointing out at the pod of orcas swimming by the kelp forest.

A bald eagle suddenly appears and the sea otters perform an alarm cry.

"And eagles!" said Martin, "Like that bald eagle. They can easily snatch a sea otter pup."

Sweater grabs Root Beer Float and plunges down underwater with him. The bald eagle tries to swoop in, only to miss, and then flies off.

"Whoa, that was a close one," said Jenny.

"Good thing they were living in groups," said Aidan.

"I'll say," said Chris, "A group of sea otters is called a raft and it's groups like these that keep sea otter pups safe from predators."

"Unfortunately, there's only one predator sea otters are vulnerable to," said Martin showing a holographic video clip, "Humans. Poaching has seriously declined their populations because fo their fur coats and sea otters are essential for maintaining the kelp forest."

"But how do sea otters maintain the kelp forest?" Ronan asked, "All they do is swim, eat, groom, and sleep."

"Let's find out," said Chris, "Aviva, are you about to build us Creature Power disks with sea otter powers?"

"I'm on it," said Aviva back in the Tortuga with Brandon to build Creature Power disks.

_Meanwhile…_

Far off the bay, Donita Donata is flying by having a meeting with her client. They end their meeting and she heads to her pink sofa to lay on.

"Dabio!" Donita orders, "Bring me some pink lemonade, now!"

"Yes Donita!" said Dabio annoyingly and he brings to her a tall glass of pink lemonade with ice and decorated with a straw, mini umbrella, and a slice of lemon.

"Ahh," said Donita after taking a few sips, "Dabio, we may have just hit the jackpot!"

"Hooray!" said Dabio, "Uhh, what is it?"

"My client, who's one of the biggest businessmen in clothing lines, wants to put forth my genius into the industry! With his name on my living fashion, I'll be the most powerful clothing designer in the world!"

"Cool!" said Dabio, "So what do you have in mind?"

"I came up with a brilliant idea," said Donita, "My client is Russian, and Russia tends to be cold. He loves pelts that keep Russians warm and to find the best pelts, you need it from a creature with the thickest fur on the planet. And he explicitly wanted this more than anything else: sea otters."

"What is that?" Dabio asked.

"Some kind of rat-thing, I'm not so sure," said Donita, "All I know is that if it will make me money, then I will collect it all!"

The jet continues heading towards Monterey Bay.

_Back with the Wild Kratts…_

Aviva is about finished with the Creature Power disks. Brandon doing anything he can to help her out. The rest of the gang is situated near the kelp forest where the Wild Kratts kids get into their scuba gear.

"Is everyone ready to see the mysterious, most magical, ominous…" Martin overemphasized.

"Martin, get on with it," Chris interrupted.

"Is everyone ready to see the kelp forest up close?" Martin asked.

"Yeah!" the Wild Kratts kids shouted.

"Let's dive!" said Chris as everyone plunges into the kelp forest.

"Jimmy and I will stay up here where it is dry and supervise you all," said Koki.

"Yeah," said Jimmy.

Down in the kelp forest, everyone is exploring every part of the ecosystem, from the surface to the bottom of the seafloor.

"Remember guys," said Chris, "We have to stay close so that we don't get lost."

"Look Jenny," said Ronan, "Starfish!"

"I recognize a couple of them," said Jenny, "Hey Chris, the one with thicker arms is the bat star and the ones with thinner, more bristly arms are brittle stars, is that correct?"

"You are correct," said Chris, "But you missed another star."

"Huh?" said Jenny, "Where?"

"Right here," said Chris picking up a sand-dollar.

"That doesn't even have arms," said Ronan.

"No," said Chris, "But they are related, except it buries itself only to come up to feed on microscopic creatures."

"Cool," said Jenny.

"Guys, I found another starfish, and it's huge!" said Ronan pointing at a sunflower star.

"Nice find Ronan," said Chris, "That's a sunflower star, one of the largest starfish in the world. And unlike most starfish that have only five arms, sunflower stars can have as many as 24 arms!"

"Whoa!" said Ronan, "That's so cool!"

"I wonder what's inside that hole?" said Gavin with curiosity.

"We should ask one of the Kratt brothers to explore it," said Aidan, "Martin!"

"I'm here!" said Martin swimming over to them, "What did you find?"

"What do you think is living in this hole?" Gavin asked.

"Let's find out!" said Martin how explores the hole only to find two glowing eyes, "Oh hello!"

Martin pulls his head out and a wolf-eel swims out of its cave.

"Whoa!" said Aidan and Gavin.

"Now that's a wolf-eel, guys," said Martin, "Even though they are called eels, they aren't really related to eels at all. They actually have their own family group called wolffishes."

"Look, a crab," said Gavin pointing at a Dungeness crab crawling by only to be caught by the wolf-eel. The wolf-eel bites through the crab's carapace and eats the entire crab.

"Whoa, that wolf-eel just caught a crab," said Aidan, "And it cracked through its shell like it's nothing!"

"Yeah, wolf-eels have jaws that can bite through crab, snails, and sea urchins," said Martin, "In fact wolf-eels have thick lips that allow them to bite into sea urchins without getting poked by their spikes."

"Cool," said Aidan and Gavin.

"Look, more underwater caves," said Martin, "Let's see what's in there."

Aidan and Gavin follow. Martin peeks into another underwater cave, only to be driven away by a lingcod.

"Whoa!" said Martin giving the lingcod some space, "That is a lingcod. And that's not just any lingcod, but a dad guarding his young. How cool is that?"

"I found a shark!" said Gavin.

"That's a horned shark," said Martin, "Known for their spine on their dorsal fin, and are also very gentle."

"This shark really likes me," said Aidan playing with a leopard shark.

"You found a leopard shark," said Martin, "Although sharks have the reputation for having vicious teeth, leopard sharks, on the other hand, have more flat teeth, suited for eating invertebrates like worms, clams, and crab."

"I like leopard sharks," said Aidan stroking the leopard shark.

"Look at all these anemones," said Katie who then points at a giant green anemone, "That one in particular is huge."

"The big green one," said Ellie, "That is a big, alright. Look down there."

"What did you see?" Katie asked.

"It was moving but now it disappeared," said Ellie.

"You mean that sea cucumber?" Katie asked.

"No, it was different," said Ellie.

The mystery creature continued to scuttle away until Chris picks it up.

"Are you talking about this, Ellie?" Chris asked holding a decorator crab.

"Whoa, that's so cool," said Ellie.

"What is it," Katie asked.

"It's a decorator crab," said Chris, "They actually pick up different debris and attach it on them so that they can blend in with their environment. It's a viable defensive strategy when you are around hungry predators like those sea otters."

"How do they attach themselves?" Katie asked.

Chris puts down the decorator crab, "If you watch closely, the crab will start picking up different material, which it then sticks to its body. What holds it together are tiny hooks, kinda like Velcro."

"Really?" said Katie.

"Now that's awesome," said Ellie.

"And the best part is that if the decorator crab needs to change its dress ware, all it had to do is remove it and then put on something else," said Chris, "Not to mention it can eat what it is wearing."

Back at the surface, Koki and Jimmy spot Donita's jet arriving at the bay.

"Donita Donata?" said Koki, "What is she doing here?"

"Probably looking for some new fashion wear," said Jimmy.

The jet brings out a tube that sucks up all of the sea otters in the surrounding area.

"She's collecting all the sea otters?" said Koki reaching to her Creature pod, "Mayday, mayday, Donita Donata is here and she's collecting all the sea otters!"

Aviva gets the message, "Uh-oh, we better get these disks to them quick."

"Right behind you," said Brandon.

They hop onto the hover bike and fly toward the rest of the team's location. The rest of the team surfaces when they heard the news.

"Donita Donata is here?" said Martin.

"And she's collecting all the sea otters?" said Chris.

"You have to stop them!" said the Wild Kratts kids.

"And they will," said Aviva arriving with Brandon, "with these!"

Aviva tosses the Creature Power disks with sea otter powers to Chris and Martin.

"Awesome!" said the Kratt Brothers who insert them into their Creature Power suit.

"Ninja, we need your help to sneak onboard their jet while create a diversion," said Chris.

"But where are the sea otters to touch?" said Koki.

Root Beer Float pops up to the surface.

"Root Beer Float!" said the Kratt brothers.

"Donita Donata's machine must've missed him," said Aviva, "But his mom, though, has been captured."

"We have to rescue the sea otters," said Chris, "I have a feeling I know what Donita plans on doing to them."

"Like what?" Gavin asked.

"Well, back in the old days, sea otters were once hunted for their thick fur to be used as pelts," said Martin showing a hologram of sea otter coats in the black market, "The sea otter population took a devastating hit and are just recovering."

"We cannot let Donita take every last sea otter," said Jenny.

"I'm with you, Jenny," said Chris, "Ready Martin?"

"Oh yeah," said Martin.

Both Kratt brothers touch Root Beer Float, shout "Activate Creature Power Suit!" and press the button on the middle of their Creature Power suit, turning into human-sized versions of Southern sea otters. The brothers then head saying "To the Creature Rescue! Saving the Planet with Creature Powers!"

When the Kratt brothers left, one by one, kelp start popping up in the surface.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" said Gavin.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out," said Aviva as she gets into her wetsuit and jumps into the water to make a shocking discovery: sea urchins devouring the kelp forest from the bottom up, causing the kelp to float away. She then pops up to the surface.

"What's happening down there, Aviva?" Koki asked.

"It's the sea urchins," said Aviva, "They're devouring the kelp too much!"

Everyone gasped.

"We have to do something," said Ellie.

"She's right," said Koki showing a hologram, "At this rate, if the sea urchins continue on with this, there will be no more kelp to make the kelp forest."

"In other words, no more homes for the creatures living in the kelp forest," said Jimmy.

"Come in Wild Kratts, come in!" said Aviva phoning the Kratt brothers.

Chris and Martin are swimming up to catch up with Brandon until they receive Aviva's call.

"Chris and Martin here," said Chris, "Come in."

"Guys, we have an issue," said Aviva, "Sea urchins are destroying the kelp forest and at a very fast rate. All the other creatures that eat sea urchins are not making a dent."

"Oh, no," said Chris, "It's like right when the sea otters were removed, the kelp forest is suffering."

"That makes sense!" said Martin, "Sea otters live in kelp forests because they are keystone species, essential for the survival of the kelp forest."

"Uh, what are keystone species?" Katie asked.

"Keystone species are creatures that are essential for the survival of a habitat," said Chris, "So sea otters are critical for the kelp forest habitat because they control the population of sea urchins so they don't destroy the kelp forest."

"How can sea otters be able to control the sea urchin population, though," Katie asked.

"Sea otters can do that because they have a high metabolic rate," said Martin, "A sea otter needs to eat about 1/3 of their body weight every day in order to survive. Meaning they would have to hunt frequently."

"Now that's a lot of sea urchins," said Chris, "Other sea urchin predators like wolf-eels and California sheepheads do not eat very much or frequently. One of them would probably eat, at most, one sea urchin every day."

"We're gonna need to step in to save the kelp forest," said Aviva, "Jimmy, drop the quarantine vessels."

"On it," said Jimmy flying the Tortuga, "Lowering the quarantine vessel to your location."

"Are you guys ready to save the kelp forest?" Aviva asked the kids.

"YEAH!" said the Wild Kratt kids.

"Let's go!" said Aviva.

Aviva and the Wild Kratts kids dive down to collect and quarantine as many sea urchins as they can find until the sea otters return.

"Those sea urchins are sure prickly," said Aidan.

"Good thing I got you all protection," said Aviva, "Now let's get collecting!"

"Aviva!" said Jenny, "We can't let those kelp drift away. Is there any way you can reattach them?"

"Well, I have this organic glue-gun that reattaches any plant attached to their stem," said Aviva, "But kelp are not exactly plants, so I'm not sure if it will work."

"You have to try something to save the kelp forest!" said Gavin.

"Koki, can you hand me the organic glue-gun?" Aviva phoned to Koki.

"I'm on it," said Koki in the Tortuga grabbing the organic glue-gun, "Heads up, Jimmy!"

Koki tosses the organic glue-gun to the teleporter and Jimmy teleports it.

"It's outta here!" said Jimmy.

Aviva receives the organic glue-gun, "I need at least two of you to bring back the kelp."

"We can do it," said Ellie.

Ellie and Katie chase and gather as much kelp they can.

"Wow, there are so many different kinds of kelp," said Katie.

"It says here that kelp forests are home to multiple species of algae," said Koki looking at the monitor, "That includes giant kelp, bull kelp, acid seaweed, and red coralline algae."

"Okay, just place that on this rock and let's see if this works," said Aviva.

Katie places the giant kelp onto the rock and Aviva glues it down to the rock.

"It looks like the glue works," Katie observed.

"And not just that," said Aviva, "The holdfast is growing back, holding down the kelp firmly to the rock!"

_Not too far ahead…_

Chris and Martin are using their sea otter powers to catch up with Brandon to save the captured sea otters, including sweater.

"Looks like Aviva and the Wild Kratt kids have it all under control," said Chris observing through his Creature Pod.

"That's good," said Martin, "That means we can focus our attention to stopping Donita!"

The Kratt Brothers stop when their stomachs growled like mad.

"Oh man," said Chris feeling cramped, "I never felt this hungry, before."

"And I thought I already ate enough," said Martin feeling the same pain, "Why am I so starved?"

Brandon pops up on their Creature Pods, "Sea otters do have a very high metabolism. It helps to keep them warm in the cold bay, but that means you would have to eat around a third of your body weight in food."

"Looks like you'll have to continue your recon on your own while Martin and I fuel up," said Chris.

"You said it," said Martin.

"Alright," said Brandon and then hangs up.

The Kratt brothers dive down hunt for food.

"With these powerful hind feet, I can dive pretty fast, faster than I could normally swim," said Chris.

"Yeah, underwater, the propelling motion sea otters make with their rear can swim up to 6 mph!" said Martin.

The Kratt brothers reach the sandy floor and begin searching for food.

"Even in this murky water, sea otters can still find food using their long whiskers to feel for something to eat," said Chris who finds a sea urchin.

Martin feels around to find an abalone attached to a rock.

"An abalone!" Martin gets excited, "Both a sea otter's and my favorite shellfish!"

Martin struggles to pry the abalone off the rock with his sea otter paws.

"Martin," said Chris, "I heard that sea otters would actually use rocks to pry away abalone."

"Oh," said Martin who looks for a good-sized rock and pounds the rock onto the abalone until he successfully pries it off, "Oh yeah, sea otters can hit with rocks at a rate of 180 hits per minute!"

The Kratt brothers swim back to the surface with their large rock and catch and float on their backs.

"So Chris, what did you get?" Martin asked.

"I got a sea urchin, brown turban snail, and dungeness crab," said Chris set the rock on his chest, "What did you get, bro?"

"I also got a sea urchin along with a geoduck clam and abalone," said Martin.

"So let's see, the rock is placed right in the middle on my chest and I just take the food and pound it onto this rock," said Chris pounding the sea urchin onto the rock.

"Yup, just like that," said Martin who does the same to his sea urchin and the brothers enjoy their meal.

_Meanwhile..._

Brandon arrives at Donita's private yacht and sneaks aboard.

"Hmm, this black outfit sticks out like a sore thumb," said Brandon who presses a button that changes the color of his outfit to pink, which he isn't too pleasant about it.

After successfully infiltrating Donita's yacht, he spies on her and Dabio having a meeting with her Russian clothing designer along with the captured sea otters trapped in a glass cage.

"I hope you are satisfied with my catch," said Donita.

"Thees be beeger than I ho0ped for," said the unknown Russian client, "I weel be looking foorward to our partnersheep."

The Russian client hangs up and Donita looks the the captured sea otters, "You fur balls will be my ticket to fame, glory, and ruling an empire of fashion!"

"Aww, but they are so cute," said Dabio trying to reach out the Sweater, "Can I keep one of those kitties as a pet?"

"No, Dabio!" said Donita who slpas Dabio's hands, "I need all these sea otters to be turned into the finest pelts in the world."

Brandon sneaks into another room and then quietly makes his report to the team.

"Okay, heads up, guys: Donita is sending all of the sea otters to Russia to take their fur and turn them into pelts. And I mean all of them."

Everyone picks up Brandon's message.

"This is bad," said Martin who finishes eating, "We need to get there fast!"

"Ninja, I need you to stall them as best as you can will finding an opening for us to enter in," Chris said to Brandon.

"On it," said Brandon who then goes off.

"We better get moving," said Martin, "But why do I have this urge to groom myself?"

"Of course," said Chris, "Sea otters are always grooming just as much as they feed to keep their fur clean and air tight, that way, they stay warm."

"Well, we better hurry, before Ninja runs out of ideas to stall them," said Martin as he and Chris hurriedly groom themselves.

Back at Donita's yacht, Brandon follows Dabio from behind, looking for the control room.

"Dabio!" Donita shouted from outside near the pool, "Fetch me some iced lemon tea, will you, darling."

"Coming Donita!" said Dabio who hurriedly grabs a pitcher with a glass decorated with an mini umbrella and a wedge of lemon.

Brandon sneaks behind and stealthily snatches the mini umbrella and replaces the lemon wedge with an orange wedge, with Dabio having no clue on what just happened. Dabio just continues to bring the drink to Donita.

"Dabio, I know you are dimwitted, but even you know better than that!" said Donita angrily, "First of all, who drinks "lemon" iced tea with a wedge of orange!? And secondly, where's the mini umbrella I always drink my lemon iced tea with!? Get back there and get it right!"

"Huh?" said Dabio who was confused and returns to decorate the cup, again.

Brandon, meanwhile, plays a prank and adds a Trinidid Moruga scorpion chili pepper, sliced in half, into the pitcher of lemon iced tea. Dabio brings the whole tray back to Donita, unaware of the hottest chili pepper in the pitcher.

"Much better," said Donita, "Now pour me a cup."

"Yes, Donita," said Dabio who pours her a cup.

Donita drinks the tea, only to feel burned in her mouth, "AHHHHHH!"

Dabio gets startled as Donita runs laps around her yacht.

"MY... MOUTH... IS... ON... FIRE!" Donita shouted in pain.

"Fire!" said Dabio who runs for the nearest fire extinguisher and sprays it all over the yacht.

Brandon takes advantage of this and sneaks under the yacht to the control room.

"Dabio, you idiot!" said Donita in the cloud of dry ice gas.

Brandon finds the control room and accesses the room by prying open the door with his chisa katana.

"Alright, I'm in," Brandon messaged to the Kratt brothers, "There's an opening underneath the yacht where she releases her mini-sub."

"That's great," said Chris through Brandon's Creature pod.

"How are the sea otters, by the way?" Martin asked through the Creature pod.

"The sea otters are each in individual glass cages," said Brandon.

"Hey, that gives me an idea," said Martin.

"What is it, bro?" Chris asked.

"Just go with me on this," said Martin, "Brandon, find the controls for the vacuum."

"On it," said Brandon trying to look for the controls, only to hear Donita and Dabio heading towards the control room.

Brandon immediately fixes the door so the room doesn't look like it has been broken in and then hides.

"Dabio, I almost forgot," said Donita, "We can't afford to let those Wild Rats spoil our chance for glory and fame and fortune. Do me a favor and turn on the cloaking device."

"Yes Donita!" said Dabio lifts a case to press a red button that turns the yacht invisible.

"Courtesy of Zach Varmitech since the bratty team recruited a ninja," said Donita, "Even a skilled ninja will have a hard time searching for my yacht. Ahahaha!"

Donita and Dabio leave the control room and Brandon appears out of hiding.

"Guys, this is bad," Brandon contacted to the Kratt brothers, "Donita just cloaked the yacht and I can't seem to uncloak it without giving away our position."

"No problem, just make us an opening to enter and we'll feel our way," said Chris.

"With sea otter powers!" said Martin, "Besides, we still have the coordinates to where you are standing."

"On it," said Brandon who opens the hatchet underneath the yacht.

The Kratt brothers arrive and start using their whiskers to probe around for Donita's yacht.

"Donita's yacht just has to be around here, somewhere," said Chris, "Try not to bump into her yacht so that we have the element of surprise."

"I think I found it!" said Martin.

"Quick, let's feel our way to the inside," said Chris as he and Martin feel around the invisible yacht for a way inside.

Down in the hatchet, Brandon works the controls to the vacuum system until Chris and Martin jump in.

"We made it!" said Martin.

"Are you getting control over the vacuum system?" Chris asked.

"Sorta," said Brandon, "So what's the plan?"

"Chris and I will drag the vacuum tube down to the bottom and you will turn it on," said Martin.

"And suck up what?" Chris asked.

"Just do it," said Martin, "Ninja, I'll give you the signal when to start."

"Hurry it up, already," said Brandon.

Chris and Martin bring the vacuum to the bottom of the seafloor.

"Okay, now what?" Chris asked.

"Gather as many good-sized rock as you can," said Martin who swims to collect a lot of rocks.

"Okay bro," said Chris who does so, too.

Later, Martin contacts Brandon through his Creature pod to give him the go.

"Now, Ninja," said Martin.

Brandon turns on the vacuum, which sucks up the rocks and delivers a rock for each sea otter in their glass cell.

"Huh," said Donita who gets suspicious, "Those Wild Rats! Here!? In my yacht!? But how!?"

"Only with the power of the sea otter!"said Martin who makes a heroic entrance with Chris and Brandon.

"You have to let those otters go!" said Chris, "They're endangered and you'll bring them to extinction at this rate!"

"Pish, like I care," said Donita, "I'm gonna become famous once I get these fur balls processed!"

"Not if we can stop you," said Martin.

"Oh?" said Donita, "Dabio, get them!"

"Yes Donita!" said Dabio.

Brandon blocks Dabio's every grab.

"Martin, I hope you put your plan into action," said Chris, "I mean sea otters are not built for moving on land very well."

"I got this," said Martin, "Ninja, I need you to glue your throwing stars onto each glass cage."

"Huh?" said Brandon confused.

"Just do it!" said Martin.

Brandon continues on so and attaches a shuriken onto each glass cage. Meanwhile, Dabio focuses his attention to the Kratt brothers.

"Ugh, I don't know what they are up to, but I'm not gonna wait any longer," said Donita who gets out her immobilizing disco ball only to be destroying by Brandon's kunai knives.

"Martin, I think you've lost it," said Chris struggling to dodge Dabio, "Yeah, I get you're trying to get the sea otters to use the rocks to break out, but they won't just simply break out like that."

"Not unless you give them something they want to break open with a rock," said Martin also struggling to dodge Dabio, "Like an abalone!"

The sea otters see the shurikens like it's an abalone and they take the rock to pound the glass. All the sea otters, including sweater, break free. Brandon opens the door and leads the sea otters out to safety.

"That's our cue!" said Martin.

"Let's get out of here!" said Chris.

Everyone escapes Donita's yacht and Donita runs out.

"Oh forget this!" said Donita who storms back in, "Dabio, we're leaving!"

They leave.

Back at the kelp forest, Aviva and the Wild Kratt kids continue repairing the kelp forest until the sea otters return. Root Beer Float is reunited with his mom and the Kratt brothers and Ninja arrive.

"You guys can stop, now," said Chris, "The sea otters can take it from here."

The sea otters grab a sea urchin from the quarantine vessel and Aidan and Gavin release the rest. Aviva reattaches the last strand of kelp to a rock and meets with the group.

"Wow, I've never seen an ecosystem look so healthy," said Aviva.

"Sea otters are keystone species here in the kelp forest," said Martin, "Living free and in the wild."

"It's important that this habitat stays protected for a lot of these other creatures to survive," said Chris.

"You guys did great," said Brandon.

"We all did great!" said Ronan.

"And one last thing to say," said Martin.

"Happy Creature-venturing" said everyone.


End file.
